Like it Was Yesterday
by Kei the Average
Summary: Germany reflects on his life as a father, and the joys and pains of watching your daughter grow up. Contains some OCs and slight M-preg. My first story on , and I hope it serves as a good read.


He remembered the day like it was just yesterday.

He had read all the books, taken all of the classes, but like a worm the worry had eaten at Ludwig's insides. More than anything, he wanted to be a good father, but alone it had taken him centuries to be a good nation, let alone a proper and loving husband to Feliciano and now a father. What if his own child didn't even like him?

He didn't have long to worry about such things when working on his cornflower garden on sunny afternoon. Suddenly he heard a cry of "Ludwig! Either I just peed my pants, or…"

"O-or…?"

"This baby wants out, NOW!"

What followed after were three, painstakingly long hours for the German father-to-be—an hour's drive to the nearest hospital, an hour to wait in preparation, and an hour for the actual C-section to be completed. As each hour passed, Ludwig became more and more anxious, until—

"She's here!" the doctor cried.

After she was cleaned, the baby was carefully handed to her mother in a pink bundle. As Feliciano cradled her in his arms, his husband could not help but feel jealous at how perfect they looked together. i He looks like such a perfect mother, already,/i he thought.

"Lulu, do you want to hold her?" Feliciano offered. Ludwig backed away almost immediately.

"N-nein…she looks fine with you, I wouldn't want to upset her…" The truth was, every fiber of Germany's being wanted to, but he had never been good with these things. He wasn't at all gentle like Italy.

"Nonsense, I'm sure she'll want to meet her Vati, face to face!" the Italian smiled, carefully holding up the baby to give to his husband. Germany took the little bundle into his arms, just like the books had said to.

Dear iGott,/i she was perfect. A fair complexion against a pink blush and a tuft of blonde hair, she slept soundly in his arms. He didn't dare to fight the smile creeping onto his face. Very gently, he took a hand and brushed the soft skin on her cheek. This new form of contact caused the child's eyelids to flutter, and slowly open. Her mama's amber eyes shined and blinked at his face.

"H-hallo…" Ludwig greeted, as if she could understand what he was saying. "I-I'm your vater…I-it's nice to meet you…" At this he hung his head. i This is ridiculous, of course she isn't going to-/i

But then, the most wonderful thing happened.

She smiled. Upon hearing Ludwig's voice, her eyes lit up, and she smiled. The little newborn cooed happily in the gentle embrace of her nervous new vati.

Italy giggled. "She must recognize your voice from me being around you so much!"

"J-ja…I guess she does…" An even bigger grin spread across the German's lips. He wasn't off to a bad start, after all.

He remembered the day like it was just yesterday.

Luciana Alice Beilldschmidt was now thirteen years old, and had grown up just like any other child. Germany had spent those thirteen years happily taking care of her, playing with her, reading her stories at night…

But she was growing up, now.

One day she came home from school, a flustered, bewildered look spread across her face, as if in a daze. He thought nothing of it when he was walking in the hallway and overheard something coming from her bedroom.

"Mama…can I talk to you about something…promise not to tell Vati?"

Luciana was sitting criss-cross-apple-sauce on her bed, her mama seated in a chair from her desk. Ludwig knew that it was wrong to eavesdrop, but he knew Feliciano would have told him about it afterwards, anyway, so he thought it wouldn't be a problem as long as she didn't know.

"I won't tell," Feliciano half promised. "What is it, dear?"

"W-well, today I went to the diner with Allen to hang out and stuff, and…"

iAllen Jones?/i Germany thought, recalling of Alfred and Arthur's son. The two kids had been friends since kindergarten, what could be going on involving him, especially something that Ludwig couldn't know?

"…Before he left, he…he kissed me—on the cheek. Where Allen's from…that's how people express that they like another person, like, LIKE-like that person…" she trailed off nervously.

Half of Germany wanted to go over to the Jones' house right now and log that kid in the face for making moves on his daughter when his other half decided it'd be better to take the time to consider the situation. Allen wasn't a bad kid. A little ornery and kind of rambunctious, but he wasn't a bad kid. He wasn't disrespectful, and he straightened up in the German's presence. But they were still so young, was it really okay to let them date at thirteen?

"Well, what do you think about him, Luci?" Italy asked with concern at this news himself.

"He's really nice," the young girl started, "and he's fun, he makes me laugh, and we have a lot of good conversations…" she continued to list, blushing, the wholehearted smile of hers growing bigger with each compliment.

Germany couldn't help but chuckle at Luciana's enthusiasm. iHe really makes her happy, doesn't he?/i he asked himself, shaking his head.

"I think…you should do what you think will make you happy," Mama finally resolved, his hand on his daughter's shoulder. After kissing her forehead, he left her bedroom.

"L-ludwig?"

"Shh!" Ludwig shushed his wife.

"W-what did you hear…?"  
>"Enough."<p>

"Oh…" the Italian looked down at his feet. "What do you suppose we should do?"

Germany thought about it really hard before finally answering, "I don't know, yet."

Later at dinner, Luci sat at her usual spot, twirling her spaghetti fork in between her fingers, her mind a wandering mess. Ludwig sat next to his daughter, knowing exactly what she was thinking about. Out of the blue, he finally said:

"Luciana, I think that Allen is a nice and respectful boy. If…if he likes you, and you like him, then I give the both of you full permission to start dating."

His poor daughter had no idea what to say when he left the table immediately after.

The day of Allen and Luci's first date finally arrived. They had decided to spend the day in Venice—a gondola ride, dinner, and the works. Though Feliciano had made him promise that he wouldn't interfere with them, he just could not comply.

A short distance away, the German man kept close eyes on his daughter and her date. He wasn't worried about getting caught since the crowds in Venice were uncomfortably large. When the two teenagers boarded the gondola, Ludwig was somehow able to dip into the canal without anyone noticing. Paddling at a safe distance, he saw the boy lean in for a kiss as the gondola headed for a tunnel.

In his protective manner, Germany grabbed Allen by the collar and pulled him into the water. A large splash immediately followed.

"Allen?" Luci's voice was heard calling, as the gondola reached light again.

"I'm alright…" he called, his head peeking above the water. "Just wet."

The girl smiled and offered a hand to her date. Once they made contact, though, she lost her balance and fell right in the water with a squeal. Germany was about to intervene when Allen was two steps ahead of him and held her from under her armpits.

"I-I got you," Allen said, blushing as he helped her back in the boat, the both of them soaking wet. Taking off his jacket, he wrapped it around her shoulders and smiled awkwardly. "Just thought you might need it," he said before they continued.

The rest of the date had gone rather well. Ludwig still kept a close eye on them, but nothing else went relatively awry and ended on a pleasant note.

The two came home a little after eight. Luciana was beaming as she walked through the door, grinning from ear to ear as she described the events of her first date to her mama.

"…and after that, we went to get gelato, and then we watched the sunset together! It was wonderful, Mama! We had lots of fun!"  
>"I can tell," Feliciano replied with a chuckle.<p>

Luciana suddenly turned to her father. "Vati?"

Germany jumped in his chair. iShizer, does she know?/i

"J-ja…?" answered Vati.

"Thanks for letting me date Allen! You're the best!" She ran over and hugged her dad around his neck, her blonde hair rubbing against his cheek.

Ludwig smiled. "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself."

He remembered the day like it was just yesterday.

One date had turned into two. Two dates became four, four became six, and so on. Allen and Luci dated for seven more years. They had had their problems, and even a few fights, but they had managed to stick it out this far before eventually, they had become adults.

That was when Allen decided to propose to Luciana.

Naturally, she said yes. Ludwig knew she would say yes. Everytime he looked at them, it reminded him of the old days he had with Feliciano. He made her happy, and vice versa.

Several months after the proposal, the big day finally came. Friends and family were piled in the pews, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the bride-to-be.

Luciana stood at the church doors. She looked absolutely beautiful in her wedding gown. One hand was holding her bouquet of flowers; the other was interlocked with her vati's. Ludwig could feel it shaking with apprehension. This was such a big step for her, was she just as unprepared for it as he was?

"Vati…" she finally spoke in a quiet voice. "Do you think that I'm ready for this?"

"Hey," he joked, still holding her hand, "isn't it the groom's job to get cold feet?"

"Vati, I'm being serious!" A sigh escaped her lips before asking again, "D-do you?"

Ludwig looked down again, he tightened his grip on her hand. He had a feeling that she wasn't talking about marrying Allen.

What she was really afraid of now was finally being an adult.

"Luciana, when you were a little girl, you told me that you wanted to grow up to be like the princesses in the book that I read to you at night. You wanted to grow up to marry the prince and live happily ever after, remember that?"

She nodded, recalling the memory. "Sì...but this isn't a fairytale, this is real life! Real life is much more difficult than just living happily ever after, I know that."

Germany sighed. "Luciana, you've grown up so much since then. You're not the little girl that needs me to hold your hand, anymore; you're a smart, kind, independent woman. You don't have to wish for your happily ever after, anymore, you can find it and acheive it, yourself!"

"You…you really think that?" she looked at him, surprised.

"I don't think that. I iknow/i it."

She smiled a bit. "You're wrong, though."

"Huh?"

"Even if it's not for everything, I'm still going to need you to hold my hand, sometimes." She grinned at him as she squeezed his hand.

Ludwig smiled warmly and kissed his daughter's forehead. "I'd like to have the pleasure of doing so," he said before iHere Comes the Bride/i began to play on the organ. Luciana pulled the veil back over her face and looked back at her father. "Are you ready?"

"Only if you are."

Everyone's eyes were on the bride and her father as they made their way down the aisle. Allen was waiting for them, a bright smile stretched across his face after making contact with his future wife. Ludwig knew that now it was time to give her away.

Before leaving his side, he could hear Luciana whisper, "Ich liebe dich, Vati."

Tearfully he replied under his breath, "Ice liebe dich, mein kleines Mädchen."

He remembered the day like it was just yesterday. He wondered what future awaited her tomorrow.


End file.
